severe
Americanadjective
-
harsh; unnecessarily extreme.
severe criticism; severe laws.
-
serious or stern in manner or appearance.
a severe face.
-
threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; grave.
a severe illness.
-
rigidly restrained in style, taste, manner, etc.; simple, plain, or austere.
-
causing discomfort or distress by extreme character or conditions, as weather, cold, or heat; unpleasantly violent, as rain or wind, or a blow or shock.
-
difficult to endure, perform, fulfill, etc..
a severe test of his powers.
-
rigidly exact, accurate, or methodical.
severe standards.
- Antonyms:
- facile, effortless, easy
adjective
-
rigorous or harsh in the treatment of others; strict
a severe parent
-
serious in appearance or manner; stern
-
critical or dangerous
a severe illness
-
causing misery or discomfort by its harshness
severe weather
-
strictly restrained in appearance; austere
a severe way of dressing
-
hard to endure, perform, or accomplish
a severe test
-
rigidly precise or exact
Related Words
See stern 1.
Other Word Forms
- oversevere adjective
- oversevereness noun
- severely adverb
- severeness noun
- supersevere adjective
- supersevereness noun
- unsevere adjective
- unsevereness noun
Etymology
Origin of severe
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin sevērus, or back formation from severity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A psychiatrist and an attorney in San Diego say an existing statute could address severe mental illness and addiction.
From Los Angeles Times
The accounts forecast a cash shortfall this summer - even before the "severe but plausible scenario" of dropping into the Championship.
From BBC
The western state with the most severe snow drought is Oregon.
From Los Angeles Times
More Americans under 55 are dying of severe heart attacks, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
To prevent severe injury, officers are trained to fire from what have been deemed safe distances.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
